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Description

Seven weeks after the official foundation of the Radiant City a package was delivered to the the Torionese port city of Noldolia. It required a modified Progress class freighter to deliver and a pair of heavy duty cranes to unload at a special dock. Special care was made to lower three massive 102 tonne steel objects down safely onto a set of rails laid in large part for such deliveries, as well a smaller simpler companion. After a set of inspections by a crew of Infrastructural Ministry of Transportation mechanics and technicians followed by a few Torionese artificers and engineers the tenders were filled with coal and water and attached to their engines, which were fired up for the first time. One by one they chugged along a short course at a modest 10kph for a brief spell over the rest of the day before being sent off to a depot. Three days latter after some more inspection on a warm morning they would be brought out for a special ceremony.

Bureaucrat Grade-5 Nikita Gamow watched as the locomotive made it's way down the railway and came to a smooth stop from an elevated stage on a chair with a small box on his lap. He'd been stationed here for the past seven years and unlike his siblings he was not much much of a trainspotter, but he knew they were Dalatyr Locomotive Factory class G6 general purpose units from his reports. They were painted gold with purple trimming: a scheme who's primary colour made him think of the Ministry of Transportation's construction and maintenance fleet back home, though those thoughts would be impolite to voice. The real reason for the scheme was obvious in the fluttering Torionese flags and banners fluttering in the breeze as a crowd stirred about. He wished this could be done in Noldolia Station, the blueprints and sketches were beautiful. But that was still under construction, so an outdoor ceremony would have to do even as the temperatures gradually rose in the summer sun.

To his relief, trumpets announced the arrival of Marquess Federico de Catelon, 27th Lord of Noldolia and and a few members of his court. He gave a speech which was flowery in it's prose but short and to the point. The same could not be said about Magister* de Viguela who follow it up with a ten minute sermon on the Gods of the Forge, the gifts of wisdom they have bequeathed to us mere mortals and the responsibility to use them wisely with allusions to several of his preferred theologians. He'd expected it, as did the fellow counsellors who had similar opinions of the old windbag.

Regardless once that was done, his part of the ceremony was fairly simple. He got to his feet, walked to the Marquis and was announced with fanfare. He approached to city-lord and gave a respectful bow. "Marquess de Catelon." He said politely, though his Torionese elocution was still far from perfect. "On behalf of the Central Committee of Infrastructure, it is my honour to transfer ownership of three locomotives to the Royal Torionese Railway. The EL-01 Amicus, EL-02 Fraternis and EL-03 Societas." He opened the box and made a show of handing over three golden keys, each one bearing the name of the locomotives delivered.

"On behalf of my King, it is my pleasure to accept." He offered a hand to the Bureaucrat and shook as a photograph was taken. With this done there was applause from the crowd.

"Your Lordship. May I offer you a tour?" Nikita asked as the two of them left the stage.

"I'd be delighted." The Marquess replied. There was little doubt he would accept. It was part of the pageantry of the day. Soon enough they were on the gravel nearby the vehicle along with Engineer Skirbekov.

"You see your Lordship, the class G6 locomotive is what we call a 2-8-2, two unpowered leading wheels, four powered wheels hooked up to the pistons in the midddle and two unpowered trailing wheels in the back." He continued from there at a steady pace, the speech well practice but still pretty surface level. Skirbekov could answer any technical questions. It was as much for the crowd as for the Marquess in any case.

In general, early Torionese railway development had been hard and slow. By 43 IA there were three disconnected short lines in operation operated by two dwarf-holds and the Tivro Foundry, each less than 40km long and set to it's own gauge, with two more under construction. It came as something of a suprise when the Infrastructural Embassy offered King Ailtor II proposal to build and outfit a 122km line for the Crown from Noldolia to Bromos in exchange for 1,600,000 Trono and a 10% share of it's dividends for 25 years. The King agreed and after surveying and deal-making with local nobles work proper began early in 45 IA, aided by the arrival of three surplus Class-6 Locomotives . The line was finished in the spring of 46 IA and shortly afterwards additional contracts would be secured for additional main lines, branch lines and extensions, along with the rolling stock. In praticular, a contract to the capital city Tuliso was enough to get King Ailtor to splurge, spending 180,000 Trono on a set of ten new locomotives for express service and to pull the Royal Train. Top of the line prime movers that were powerful, fast, efficient and prestigious.

Parlially this program of rail development was done to pay off the debts accrued during to the Escort War. Partially this was to keep a major source of oil on friendly terms. But a factor often overlooked in this policy of rail development lay in the tracks themselves, or rather between them. The Kingdom of Torion would have one of the best rail networks on the planet, but one set to a Gauge of 1.5 meters. The King would continue to commission additional locomotives for the Royal Torionese Railway, it would remain a market for surplus Infrastructural rolling stock and their spare parts and it would provide a useful lever in decades to come.

*A regional official in the Order of Keepers, managing Order affairs from a Temple-Archive.

From the Beginning...

Previous: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Eighty
Next:Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Eighty Two

Description

Seven weeks after the official foundation of the Radiant City a package was delivered to the the Torionese port city of Noldolia. It required a modified Progress class freighter to deliver and a pair of heavy duty cranes to unload at a special dock. Special care was made to lower three massive 102 tonne steel objects down safely onto a set of rails laid in large part for such deliveries, as well a smaller simpler companion. After a set of inspections by a crew of Infrastructural Ministry of Transportation mechanics and technicians followed by a few Torionese artificers and engineers the tenders were filled with coal and water and attached to their engines, which were fired up for the first time. One by one they chugged along a short course at a modest 10kph for a brief spell over the rest of the day before being sent off to a depot. Three days latter after some more inspection on a warm morning they would be brought out for a special ceremony.

Bureaucrat Grade-5 Nikita Gamow watched as the locomotive made it's way down the railway and came to a smooth stop from an elevated stage on a chair with a small box on his lap. He'd been stationed here for the past seven years and unlike his siblings he was not much much of a trainspotter, but he knew they were Dalatyr Locomotive Factory class G6 general purpose units from his reports. They were painted gold with purple trimming: a scheme who's primary colour made him think of the Ministry of Transportation's construction and maintenance fleet back home, though those thoughts would be impolite to voice. The real reason for the scheme was obvious in the fluttering Torionese flags and banners fluttering in the breeze as a crowd stirred about. He wished this could be done in Noldolia Station, the blueprints and sketches were beautiful. But that was still under construction, so an outdoor ceremony would have to do even as the temperatures gradually rose in the summer sun.

To his relief, trumpets announced the arrival of Marquess Federico de Catelon, 27th Lord of Noldolia and and a few members of his court. He gave a speech which was flowery in it's prose but short and to the point. The same could not be said about Magister* de Viguela who follow it up with a ten minute sermon on the Gods of the Forge, the gifts of wisdom they have bequeathed to us mere mortals and the responsibility to use them wisely with allusions to several of his preferred theologians. He'd expected it, as did the fellow counsellors who had similar opinions of the old windbag.

Regardless once that was done, his part of the ceremony was fairly simple. He got to his feet, walked to the Marquis and was announced with fanfare. He approached to city-lord and gave a respectful bow. "Marquess de Catelon." He said politely, though his Torionese elocution was still far from perfect. "On behalf of the Central Committee of Infrastructure, it is my honour to transfer ownership of three locomotives to the Royal Torionese Railway. The EL-01 Amicus, EL-02 Fraternis and EL-03 Societas." He opened the box and made a show of handing over three golden keys, each one bearing the name of the locomotives delivered.

"On behalf of my King, it is my pleasure to accept." He offered a hand to the Bureaucrat and shook as a photograph was taken. With this done there was applause from the crowd.

"Your Lordship. May I offer you a tour?" Nikita asked as the two of them left the stage.

"I'd be delighted." The Marquess replied. There was little doubt he would accept. It was part of the pageantry of the day. Soon enough they were on the gravel nearby the vehicle along with Engineer Skirbekov.

"You see your Lordship, the class G6 locomotive is what we call a 2-8-2, two unpowered leading wheels, four powered wheels hooked up to the pistons in the midddle and two unpowered trailing wheels in the back." He continued from there at a steady pace, the speech well practice but still pretty surface level. Skirbekov could answer any technical questions. It was as much for the crowd as for the Marquess in any case.

In general, early Torionese railway development had been hard and slow. By 43 IA there were three disconnected short lines in operation operated by two dwarf-holds and the Tivro Foundry, each less than 40km long and set to it's own gauge, with two more under construction. It came as something of a suprise when the Infrastructural Embassy offered King Ailtor II proposal to build and outfit a 122km line for the Crown from Noldolia to Bromos in exchange for 1,600,000 Trono and a 10% share of it's dividends for 25 years. The King agreed and after surveying and deal-making with local nobles work proper began early in 45 IA, aided by the arrival of three surplus Class-6 Locomotives . The line was finished in the spring of 46 IA and shortly afterwards additional contracts would be secured for additional main lines, branch lines and extensions, along with the rolling stock. In praticular, a contract to the capital city Tuliso was enough to get King Ailtor to splurge, spending 180,000 Trono on a set of ten new locomotives for express service and to pull the Royal Train. Top of the line prime movers that were powerful, fast, efficient and prestigious.

Parlially this program of rail development was done to pay off the debts accrued during to the Escort War. Partially this was to keep a major source of oil on friendly terms. But a factor often overlooked in this policy of rail development lay in the tracks themselves, or rather between them. The Kingdom of Torion would have one of the best rail networks on the planet, but one set to a Gauge of 1.5 meters. The King would continue to commission additional locomotives for the Royal Torionese Railway, it would remain a market for surplus Infrastructural rolling stock and their spare parts and it would provide a useful lever in decades to come.

*A regional official in the Order of Keepers, managing Order affairs from a Temple-Archive.

From the Beginning...

Previous: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Eighty
Next:Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Eighty Two